Rebecca's War Dog of the Week: The secret to a successful dog-handler relationship

Posted By Thomas E. Ricks Friday, June 10, 2011 - 10:58 AM Share

By Rebecca Frankel
Best Defense chief canine correspondent

There's been a lot of attention since the bin Laden mission on the training military canines receive. News sites have been sending their correspondents to kennels and bases trying to get the inside scoop on what kind of instruction Cairo (the MWD alleged to have been on Operation Neptune Spear) might've gotten before maybe taking out Enemy No. 1. Some could say these forays in behind-the-scenes canine reporting are a little...unnecessary.

But as any good handler will tell you, there's more to nurturing a top-notch war dog than just getting nailing down commands to push a canine-in-training to scale jump drills, maneuver through obstacle courses, unearth hidden explosive devices, and attack reporters in protective suits.

Cpl. Angelo Melendez is one such handler. He and his dog, Rocky, are in the Marine Corps -- and the pair knows the value of hard work and commitment spending an average of 8 to 14 hours a day training together (standard for most dog-handler teams). But Melendez considers his job a real "privilege," keeps his work in perspective, saying "there's no other job like it."

The effectiveness of Melendez's focus and positive outlook hasn't gone unnoticed by his superiors. "He has an exceptional relationship with Rocky," says Officer Brandon Owens, chief trainer for Camp Pendelton's K-9 unit. "Rocky doesn't only listen to him because he has to, he does it because he wants to, and that goes a long way. That's a key thing we look for in a dog/handler relationship."

So what's behind Melendez's successful training philosophy?

"Handlers learn to love their dogs, Melendez said. ‘If you can't," he added, "then this job is definitely not for you.'"

defense.gov

EXPLORE:REBECCA'S WAR DOG OF THE WEEK

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TEREDWAR

7:51 PM ET

June 10, 2011

"the pair knows the value of hard work and commitment spending an average of 8 to 14 hours a day training together (standard for most dog-handler teams)."

B.S., ain't no dog in the world that has the mental stamina to repeatedly "train" 14 hours a day.

Why this unneeded exaggeration?

RVN SF VET

9:23 PM ET

June 10, 2011

MAYBE

because they count "downtime" as training. It wouldn't be unusual to work for four hours, break for 4 hours, and then go out again. It ids my understanding that there is a great deal of reinforcement training that goes on. From the time they start the day until his handler goes home could well be 14 hours and there is shift work.

This dog is on police duty and police patrol. Regular police dogs work a full shift and have lots of time to half-relax. But then they get that word or that tug on the leash and they go to full-alert. I've experienced this with police dogs in Washington, DC. The handler gives the dog a command with a pull on his harness and the dog goes into "doggy mode." They you may approach and pet the dog.

Do not do this with AF attack dogs - believe me.

VICTOR LESPERANCE

5:09 PM ET

June 11, 2011

Running Out of Dogs

The question of dog supply is becoming critical. I was talking to a State Police Officer who is K-9 SGT. He is concerned because it is very difficult for the SP to get the right breed of dogs at a young age. His suggestion (which probably makes too much sense to be adopted by the Federal Government) is to establish a breeding center that is dedicated to producing dogs for all governmental entities. The dogs born at this facility would be available to all legitimate military, law enforcement and other public safety agencies at Federal, State and Local levels. The program at Lackland could serve as a prototype or perhaps even expanded. My friend's understanding is that the Lackland dogs are bomb dogs; I am not sure about that but nevertheless the demand is there.

I would expand this idea to include a canine research center, wounded dog rehab center, and a focal point for integrating Reserve and National Guard members who are K-9 officials in their non military careers. If anyone has any ideas or more importantly influence on these matters, I would like to hear how to proceed.

RVN SF VET

8:39 PM ET

June 11, 2011

VICTOR LESPERANCE - EXCELLENT IDEA

Lackland produces all kinds of dogs. Long ago, their focus was attack dogs for SAC base defense. I don't know what the origin of Army patrol dogs was, but it is very different training and the definition has changed over time. A WWII dog might have attacked an enemy while today's patrol dog alerts to the enemy. Of course, they all will defend their handlers.

Since they are getting into everything else, Homeland Security could fund an expansion of Lackland. However, in our government, we are more likely to duplicate efforts. It's a religious thing.

WARDOG72

5:50 AM ET

June 12, 2011

Lackland AFB, TX has 2

Lackland AFB, TX has 2 breeding programs: 1 for DoD (breeds Belgian Malinois) and 1 for TSA (ie Homeland Security and produces labradors or lab-viszla mix). DoD breeding program dogs are not strictly "bomb dogs". Dogs are bred, tested, trained on neutral odor and patrol and then placed in a class at the Dog Training Section (DTS). It's a large program just to breed dogs for DoD, much less every other agency out there. Many other agencies have their own breeding programs anyways (border patrol is one). The breeding programs do not produce enough dogs for DoD or TSA to negate purchasing dogs and probably never will. That was not their intent...

"Train" is a subjective word. Having your dog in a patrol vehicle would not necessarily be considered training but it depends on the situation (training your dog to get used to a passenger in the vehicle as an example). Most handlers that get interviewed are going to "dumb down" their answers and are probably not expecting people to break down and analyze each fragment of their sentences.

VICTOR LESPERANCE

2:19 PM ET

June 15, 2011

Reply to Wardog 72

Sorry if I misused the "bomb dog" term. That is how my friend described the Lackland program. His partner is a Belgian Malinois. His concern is that his unit is unable to procure the right type of animal for their missions. He is expert in these matters so I trust his comments on these issues.

I signed up for this blog about six months ago. Prior to that, my knowledge on these matters was nil. It may not be much more than that now but I am coming to appreciate how versatile and effective these animals can be in a variety of settings. RVN SF is right by suggesting that the government could mess up a good thing but it seems to me that some planning and resulting action could alleviate a developing set of problems. The research end of this idea may yield surprising solutions to a whole bunch of vexing difficulties.

Rather than replicate, is there already something out there along the lines of what we are suggesting?